Stop negative portrayal of differently-abled people in movies, says Supreme Court

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued guidelines to stop the negative portrayal of differently-abled people in films and visual media. The bench chaired by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud objected to the unscrupulous words used in movies to scoff at differently-abled people.

Nipun Malhotra approached the court against the derogatory remarks used in the movie ‘Aankh Micholi’ to describe differently-abled people. The court directed the Censor Board to take note of these matters and seek expert opinion before screening.

The court guidelines asked moviemakers to not just restrict themselves in showing the challenges of differently-abled people, but show also their achievements, skills and contributions to society. The court also warned filmmakers to not make differently-abled people part of fictional characters or portray them as super-disabled.